VMF-214 "Black Sheep" at Espiritu Santo

Major Gregory Boyington's VMF-214 Black Sheep Squadron on Turtle Bay fighter strip on Esperitu Santo. VMF-214 poses for a group picture before leaving for their operations in the Russell Islands. An F4U-1 is in the background. In their two tours of combat, the Black Sheep shot down 94 Japanese aircraft and counted nine aces (5 or more enemy aircraft shot down.) Gregory Boyington was shot down on January 3, 1944 and spent the remainder of the war in Omori Prison Camp. The Black Sheep were disbanded after their second tour. Boyington won the Medal of Honor and promotion to Colonel was he was released in September 1945.